The Napa Valley Grapegrowers held their spring press conference yesterday, as reported on winebusiness.com. Among the news, NVG reports a heightened interest in NVG's farmworker foundation.

About the program:
• Since its inception three years ago, NVG has raised more than $365,000 for its Farmworker Foundation
• NVG educated over 2,300 farmworkers and supervisors in 2012 alone. Additional English language classes will be added in 2013 to meet demand; classes in equipment training, health, safety, management, leadership and finance are also offered
• Through the Foundation, the NVG and dedicated families such as the Moulds and the Trefethens will provide college-level scholarships to farmworkers striving to improve their opportunities
• Napa is the only county in California and the nation to have an assessment on all growers that built three farmworker centers providing lodging, meals, laundry, and recreational amenities
• 2013 Stomp, August 24, 5 p.m. at Trinchero Family Estate in Calistoga, is NVG’s annual fundraiser for the Farmworker Foundation
• The 2011 NVG Wages & Benefits Survey shows that 91% of vineyard supervisors and 69% of vineyard workers are offered medical insurance plans (compared to 52% nationwide in the private sector); 55% are offered 401k plans – an impressive number that speaks directly to the grape growers commitment to social equity; 66% of grapegrowers give annual pay raises
• Grape growing now requires a full time workforce and is no longer made up of migrant workers